A Day Together
by opalpendragon
Summary: Gajeel and Lucy find themselves alone, standing in some of the most peaceful and romantic scenery either have ever seen. Together. In swim suits. As the sun sets. In other words, it's awkward as hell. Galu week, day 1: Date; day 2: Trust; day 3: Touch; day 4: Lonely; day 5: Communication; day 6: Guilt; day 7: Secrets
1. Day 1: Date

(Typical disclaimers: I don't own Fairy Tail, no matter how much I wish I did. Rated T for Gajeel. Enjoy!) 

It had started simply enough—Gray asked Lucy to come with him on a mission, and Juvia asked Gajeel the same thing. Neither stopped to ask who else would be going with them, or where they would be going, or even what the mission would entail. They both had just said 'sure' without a thought and had begun regretting it the moment they met up at the train station.

Gray and Juvia had begun seeing each other a few weeks prior, but Lucy and Gajeel hadn't exactly talked very much since the Phantom Lord incident. Sure, they had inadvertently heard about each other through Levy, but they had never once sat down and had a conversation.

And all of a sudden, they were paired up to help guard a private beach and guest house while their companions oversaw the main house, the client and his family. Not even Pantherlily was around, since the client's daughter had immediately taken a liking to him and declared him her personal protector for the duration of their three-day stay. The exceed had agreed easily after being promised an extensive supply of kiwis.

Which left the dragon slayer and the celestial mage standing in some of the most peaceful and romantic scenery either had ever seen. Together. In swim suits. As the sun set.

In other words, it was awkward as hell.

"S-so, uh..." Lucy finally spoke, unable to take any more of the uncomfortable silence. "You and Levy-chan, huh?"

He turned slightly and raised an eyebrow at her. "No," he said simply.

The girl cringed. Five more minutes of silence passed. "Damn it, Gajeel! Just talk to me already! It's too quiet!" she exploded.

The male's eyes widened, his surprise evident on his face as he watched her childishly stomp her foot. Without any warning, he burst out laughing.

"Hey! Gajeel! Are you laughing at me?!" the blonde demanded. Inside, she was marveling over the fact that he was capable of amusement in something other than his cat, her best friend, or his sadistic hobbies that she had once personally experienced. She decided that she kind of liked this side of him, even if it sort of felt like he was making fun on her.

"Let's just go swimmin' or somethin', Bunny Girl," he chortled.

She made a face at him but followed as he headed for the water. Once they were waist-deep in, she found herself watching his profile. He was rather handsome, she supposed. Levy-chan definitely hadn't lied about that. But he was so... so stoic! She frowned at him, tracing the gentle waves underneath her palms before a wide, wicked grin stretched across her face.

"Neh, Gajeel~?" she called out innocently.

He turned to her. "Wha—"

She threw a handful of water into his face before almost doubling over laughing at his shocked expression as his hair dripped sea water into his eyes. Next thing she knew, she was practically tossed under a wave as she heard the deep, rumbling chuckles of the slayer she had instigated a water fight with. She couldn't help but smile in triumph, even if she did get a little bit of the ocean in her nose.

She tried tackling him from the back to push him down, but all it ended up doing was pressing her chest flush against his back as her arms wrapped over his shoulders. She squeaked, surprised that he hadn't budged an inch, even as her legs wrapped around his torso in an attempt to not fall back. He peeked over his shoulder, met her eyes, and gave her a grin that made her heart stop.

Then he just fell backwards, causing them both to go underwater.

They continued in this fashion for almost half an hour before they realized that the sun had almost completely set and that it would be dark soon. After climbing out of the water, they headed back to the guest house and Lucy made dinner while Gajeel did a perimeter sweep.

She had really enjoyed herself with him, and it had caught her completely by surprise. She hadn't been scared of him for a long time, but she had never quite been able to see what her best friend saw in the man. But now she had caught a glimpse, and she had to admit that hers and Levy's types were much more similar than they had previously credited.

The blonde hummed to herself as she stirred the beef and broccoli, thinking about the conversation the two girls would have when she returned home. After setting the table, she stuck her head out the window.

"Gajeel!" she called. "Dinner's ready!"

Someone came up silently behind her and plopped a heavy head on her shoulder, causing her to shriek. "Who ya lookin' for, Bunny Girl?" an amused voice questioned, obviously fighting back laughter.

She shrieked, hand pressed over her rapidly beating heart. "You scared the hell out of me, you jerk!"

He just chuckled as he stood up straight, ruffling her hair until it was no longer manageable. "What'd ya make, Bunny? Smells pretty good," he commented, turning around and plopping down at the table expectantly.

The blonde stuck her tongue out at him, kicking his shin lightly to which he growled almost playfully as she slipped into the kitchen and brought back the beef and rice. After setting both pots down on the table, she once again went back the way she had come from and returned with a tray.

She set the tray down next to the rice and handed Gajeel a cup of tea, as well as a few bricks of iron that she had gotten from Virgo. The man's eyes practically glittered with excitement when he saw them and he immediately grabbed one, taking a large bite out of it as his expression lit up with something like bliss.

Lucy couldn't fight back the giggles, seeing him look like that.

"What?" he growled indignantly. "This is pure iron! Do you have any idea how hard it is to find pure iron?!"

She just continued laughing, causing the iron dragon slayer to blush ever so slightly as he reached over and plopped his hand down on her head, his fingers convulsing as he attempted to intimidate her.

His actions only doubled her amusement. It was only after her chuckles died down that she realized the large man in front of her was _sulking_. She fought down more laughter as she reached up and took his wrist, lifting his hand off her head and placing it back over his half-eaten brick. She smiled at him warmly.

"Sorry for laughing," she told him softly. "I just didn't expect big ol' Black Steel Gajeel to have such a cute side, alright?"

He winced and tried to shoot her a glare, but couldn't quite fight off a light blush.

"Let's eat, neh?" she grinned, dishing out the food and picking up her utensils, gesturing for him to do the same.

He let out a huff and they ate together, neither saying much even as they cleaned up and headed awkwardly back into the living room. After a few more moments, Lucy let out a loud sigh.

"Want to watch a movie, maybe?" she offered.

The slayer shrugged. "Sure," he grunted, getting to his feet and crossing the room to the TV lacrima. He browsed the selection for a few minutes before glancing back at the blonde with a wicket grin that made her shiver.

"Uh, Gajeel...?" she questioned nervously.

He just chuckled as he made his way over to the couch next to her. "This is gonna be great," he declared with a dark excitement, watching her face pale as the horror movie started up. He laughed uproariously for a bit before turning his attention back to the screen just as the first kill was made. The girl held in a shriek, unconsciously moving closer to the secure warmth of the man next to her.

By the time the movie was halfway done, she was clinging to his arm and occasionally ducking her face into his shoulder when something particularly gruesome happened. His overall opinion was that it was funny as hell, not to mention the fact that she was rather soft and smelled pretty good.

As the movie came to an end, he realized that not only was she practically in his lap, she had also dozed off at some point. The slayer held in a chuckle as he tried to pull himself away from her, but she protested groggily and climbed the rest of the way on top of him as a result.

He was stunned, to say the least, but wasn't entirely unhappy with the position. After a few minutes of being frozen, he just let out a sigh, pulled a blanket over the both of them, and leaned over so that they were laying down as she snuggled into his chest. Gajeel felt conflicted, to say the least. He liked Levy—at least, he thought he had—but here he was, cuddling with the bluenette's best friend after playing around with her all day. And he couldn't deny that he rather enjoyed it.

… Fuck. 

When Lucy woke up, she was surrounded by a comfortable warmth and something heavy draped over her waist. After squirming around for a moment, she opened her eyes—and came face-to-sleeping-face with Gajeel Redfox. She held in a scream as her mind processed what had happened the day before. And in a sudden rush of recognition, she came to realize that from the view of an outsider, it would have looked like they were a couple.

She had practically had a date with him! And, oh Mavis, she had _liked_ it.

What was she going to tell Levy?


	2. Day 2: Trust

Day 2: Trust (a continuation of A Day Together)

(Once again, typical disclaimers: I don't own Fairy Tail.)

The second day of Gajeel and Lucy's stay on the beach was only slightly awkward after 'the cuddling incident', but neither brought it up. Once again, they found themselves playing in the water—though it was much more to Gajeel's pleasure when they started treating it as training, as well. As soon as Lucy called out Aquarius and Scorpio, he knew he was truly going to enjoy himself with her.

After several hours (and a bit of wanton destruction) later, the two headed back to the guest house to eat lunch. Then they heading back out to try and restore the once pristine beach and remove all the hazardous hunks of metal from the sand. Then Loke came through his own gate for a few minutes to ogle Lucy in her bikini, only to piss off Gajeel.

One "Iron dragon's roar!" later, and he was back in the celestial plain. Not that the mighty Leo was taken down by one measly attack! But then there were two problems that occurred: one, the slayer was forced to recognize that he might have felt something akin to possessiveness over the blonde (not that she seemed upset by that), and two: the resulting wind from his roar tore off her bikini top and she had ended up flashing both the boys who were present.

That's right; Loke was taken out by a massive nosebleed.

Gajeel soon joined him, leaving the blonde mage screaming as she repeatedly kicked the unconscious man in the head and tried to keep her boobs covered with her arms. But the trouble only started there: after hearing the shrieks, Gray and Juvia had come down from the main house to see what was the matter.

Not only was Lucy topless, but that misplaced roar had also taken out part of the beach. Needless to say, the ice mage turned a bright red and was dragged away by the ear, courtesy of his enraged girlfriend. Luckily for the blonde, Virgo showed up with a cover-up and helped to carry the iron dragon slayer back to the guest house. After making dinner for the two (and being declined her punishment once more), the maid spirit disappeared to go have a little 'discussion' with the zodiac leader about perving on their master.

Lucy, try as she may, could not possibly stay angry at the sleeping slayer sprawled out on the couch where they had slept the night before. For some reason, he looked so... so _peaceful_. She couldn't even focus on the book in her lap, finding her eyes constantly trailing over him and having to fight off a warm smile.

Then his lips quirked up in that infuriating little smirk of his and a new trail of blood made its way down his chin. The blonde decided she could stay mad at him, after all, and proceeded to smack his head a few times with her previously neglected novel.

"Pervert!" she accused, huffing at him as she flopped back down on her chair and sent a glare at his prone form.

Then he let out a low whimper, and she actually started feeling bad about abusing him in his sleep. It was because of this that she was still watching his face worriedly when his mouth opened ever so slightly to let out a pained groan and he sat up on his elbows, rubbing his forehead as he looked around the room with dazed eyes.

… Crap, that mouth looked... no. No, no, no. She picked up the book and in turn smacked herself, causing him to jump with the sudden sound.

"... Ow," she mumbled, peeking over at the man who was now watching her with curiosity and slight amusement. "What?" she demanded innocently.

He chuckled. "Nothin', Bunny Girl. The hell'd you hit yourself for?"

She fought off a blush. "I, uh, my face itched!" she suggested awkwardly. "That's right, it felt like there was a bug on my face or something!"

The slayer literally fell off the couch laughing, and the girl couldn't do anything but mentally kick herself for saying something so stupid. But, at the same time, it wasn't like she could have told him the truth!

'Yeah, sorry, just had to restart my brain after thinking about how it would be like to kiss you. No big deal!' Ha! Yeah, right.

Then she realized that she was supposed to be mad at him and jumped to her feet, clenching the heavy volume (weapon) tightly between her hands as she shot him a glare. He eventually calmed down enough to glance over at the girl, but his demise was already assured. She tackled him, unknowingly straddling his waist as she repeatedly brought the book down on his chest.

"Jerk! Pervert!" she accused angrily.

"Oi! Bunny Girl, calm down! OI!" He finally managed to steal the book and fling it away, only to find himself staring at the panting girl above him. Then he looked down and noticed their position and his face heated up a bit before splitting into a wide, mischievous grin. "My turn!" he announced gleefully, flipping them over so that he was on top and she was staring up at him with wide eyes.

And then he tickled her.

"Nooo!" she shrieked through giggles, squirming and trying to get away, but his grip on her was much like his element: iron.

He laughed along with her, ignoring their position as their legs tangled and she tried rather futilely to grab onto his arms in an attempt to keep his wriggling fingers away from her sides. After almost fifteen minutes of the torture and seeing that her face was turning blue, he decided to let up.

He grinned down at her, memorizing the way she looked at that moment: panting, red-faced, disheveled, and sexy as hell. The slayer found himself glancing down at her lips, parted as they were while she tried to suck in as much air as she could. And fuck, as if her appearance wasn't bad enough, she just smelled so _edible_. Like strawberries and vanilla. His tongue darted over his lips thoughtlessly.

She saw the action and her heart stopped for a moment. Then he dove in and kissed her on an instinct, and she forgot about anything but the two of them. There was no Levy, no mission; nothing. Just him and her and the fact that his teeth were pulling at her bottom lip, and then his tongue—oh, Mavis.

Her brain short-circuited and a light moan reverberated in the back of her throat, her arms snaking around his neck in an attempt to pull him even closer.

She tasted so sweet, he couldn't help but think that hers was a flavor he could grow addicted to. And then that moan... fuck, he wanted her. One of his hands worked its way around her waist while the other traced up from her side to brush ever so lightly against her heaving chest.

Neither one of them heard the door open, or the sound of Gray and Juvia looking for them in the kitchen. It was only when Pantherlily thought to check the living room that they were pulled from their activity, and none too pleasantly.

"Gajeel?! Lucy?!"

They tore away from each other, both immediately finding the stunned exceed with wide eyes.

"Oh, fuck," Gajeel breathed, ever so eloquently. He rushed to get off of the blonde underneath him. Then, he tore his gaze away from his cat to find the girl he had just made out with covering her very obviously red face with her hands. He let out a sigh and took one of her arms, pulling her up to her feet in one fluid motion before turning back to Lily.

The black exceed just stared at them, his expression frozen in shock. Then, ever so slowly, he opened his mouth. "What about Levy?" he questioned quietly.

Both mages immediately felt a stab of guilt at the mention of the little bookworm, and the glanced over to lock eyes. Lucy chewed her lip nervously, then looked away with a sigh. "We have to tell her," she admitted softly. "Even if this is nothing—just a mistake... we have to tell her."

Gajeel winced. He agreed that it was the right thing to do, but... The fuck did she mean, 'even if it's nothing'?! His anger rose a bit. Like hell it was 'nothing'! That was one of the best goddamn kisses he'd ever had, and he wanted more. He wanted everything from the girl in front of him. More than anything, he just wanted _her_. It was an unknown feeling to him, but his instincts warned him not to ignore it.

The slayer turned a glare on the girl, surprising her. He reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her outside as he growled. "We need to talk. Now."

Lucy almost felt a little afraid of the man, but she knew that he wouldn't hurt her. She trusted him.

… Trust? Did she really? Even after everything they had gone through?

She stared at his back, at the way his onyx mane swung behind him as he walked with that proud stride of his. And she knew that she did, in fact trust him—with everything. So she shook off her surprise stubbornly and gripped his hand, forcing him to slow down a bit. "Gajeel," she called out to him calmly.

He turned back to her, surprised. The moment he felt her tense up, he just knew that anything that could have happened between them was gone. But he didn't let go of her arm—he couldn't. So he had continued marching forward. Looking into her warm, open eyes, he felt himself relax. There was something there. He hadn't been the only one to feel it.

Now to figure out what the hell that 'something' was.

"Gajeel," the girl called again, taking a step closer to him so that they were standing side-by-side. "Look, I... I trust you, okay? So I'm going to tell you something here, and I want you to listen until the end. Please?"

He slowly nodded and she grinned up at him before nodding to herself, glancing away from his face to peer out at the ocean.

"I... Levy is my best friend. And she likes you. I always supported that. But now, with all... this," she sighed, squeezing his fingers with her own, "it turns out that I like you, too. Whether you feel the same or not, I don't know if I can really put Levy-chan's happiness aside for my own. But... I trust her, too. And she trusts me. Even if nothing comes of my feelings, I can't betray her trust."

He watched her quietly for a moment before letting out a sigh of his own. "Listen to me, Bunny Girl. I trust you, too. And I like ya. A hell of a lot. So, being the selfish bastard that I am, I'm gonna keep doin' things like kissin' ya. Even if it does hurt the Shrimp, I think she'd want you to be happy, too. So yeah, we'll talk to her. But if ya think I'm gonna let ya get away from me, you can think again."

They stood there for a long time, just staring at each other. Then they both couldn't fight off the wide grins that stretched across their faces. "This is insane!" Lucy giggled, leaning her forehead against the slayer's chest as she snaked her arms tightly around his waist.

He barked out a laugh, wrapping her securely into his grasp. "Ya got that right, Bunny! But then again, we _are_ from Fairy Tail. What kinda sanity did ya expect?"

"You may have a point there," she chortled, glancing up to meet his deep red eyes. Her smile softened and she reached up to place a kiss on his lips, but that was also the exact same moment that Pantherlily decided to make himself known again.

"I apologize for interrupting again, but you do know that Gray and Juvia are beginning to worry, don't you?"

"Goddammit, Lily!" Gajeel roared.


	3. Day 3: Touch

Day 3: Touch

(As always, I don't own Fairy Tail. If I did, Galu would be a reality.)

Pantherlily was obviously unhappy with Gajeel and Lucy's tentative new relationship. The exceed had always supported the idea of his partner ending up with Levy; it had been obvious to anyone that they were good together, that they had a mutual respect and affection for one another. Watching the dragon slayer with the blonde, Lily wasn't sure if they could boast the same things.

Not only would they end up hurting one of their nakama, but they barely knew each other at all. Their only draw to each other seemed to be physical, and in the end they would both come to regret their choice to be together. He was certain of it.

Gray and Juvia were a bit more supportive than the exceed, after of course laying down a few ground rules; Gray: "Hurt my sister and die." Juvia: "It's good that Lucy-san is no longer a love rival, but if she betrays Gajeel-kun, Juvia will have no choice but to injure her severely."

After making sure that they were clear on that, they informed the two that their client was sending them back early, since obviously the threats he had received had been false. They had received their payment already and were prepared to return to Magnolia on the next train.

It was only as they were waiting at the train station that Gray asked the same question that Pantherlily had posed: "What about Levy?"

Lucy winced. "We have to tell her," she admitted quietly.

Gajeel reached over and draped his arm over her shoulders, pulling her against his side in a display of silent comfort.

"Levy-san will understand," Juvia assured. "She cares about both Lucy-san and Gajeel-kun. It may take a bit of time, but Juvia is certain that she will eventually come to understand their relationship."

Lily had been silent up to this point, but he finally spoke up. "And what exactly is their 'relationship'?" he questioned. "They barely know one another."

The iron mage sent his cat a short glare. "Look, Lily, I know you're pissed right now. But Bunny Girl gets my instincts actin' up in a way the Shrimp never did. That _means_ somethin' to dragon slayers. If we don't know each other well right now, we just hafta learn. Simple as that."

"You never answered my question, Gajeel," the exceed deadpanned. "What _is_ your 'relationship'?"

The slayer fought down a growl. "She's my possible mate, ya goddamn cat!" he spat out. "We won't know for sure without bein' together for a while, but right now it's pretty fuckin' likely that she'll be my mate one day!"

Lucy blushed, hearing this for the first time. But she had to admit, something about the idea seemed... right. There was just something about Gajeel that set him apart from other guys—almost as if he was appealing to her instincts the same way he said that she appealed to his. Otherwise, she never would have done something that could hurt her best friend so much.

She decided to speak up before the slayer and exceed could destroy part of the train station. "I-it makes no sense, considering I'm not a dragon slayer, but it's the same for me," she blurted out. "The... instincts part. I'm a little tempted to ask Capricorn or Crux if they know anything about it."

Gajeel stared at her with wide eyes, the human part of him completely in shock. The dragon part was smug as hell, pointing out that he had chosen a worthy mate, after all—and that a little gloating was in order.

Patherlily, Gray and Juvia were all temporarily stunned.

Finally, the dragon slayer grinned widely, letting out a loud laugh that had the other commuters staring at him like he was insane. He pulled Lucy up onto his lap, causing her to squeal in protest as he wrapped his arms securely around her waist. "Fuck, I knew I was good, but how the hell did I manage to find a chick that actually understood this shit!" he chortled, resting his forehead on her shoulder.

The blonde blushed and swatted at him, but said nothing as she slowly relaxed into his hold.

Gray's eye twitched. "No!" he suddenly shouted, jumping to his feet almost like a child throwing a tantrum. "Why must my little sister be paired up with _him_? No—more than that, why do they have to actually match so well?!"

The ice mage had a bit of a breakdown while his companions sweat-dropped and his girlfriend moved in to comfort him.

Of course, then the train got there and Gajeel was suddenly very interested in walking back. Lucy just grabbed his hand and dragged him in, offering for him to use her lap. Gajeel, being Gajeel, of course made a perverted comment and was knocked out for the duration of the ride, courtesy of Gray.

Once they finally reached Magnolia, the blonde was suddenly much more nervous about facing the guild—in particular, Levy. She was terrified of losing her best friend, but there was also the fact that she didn't want to lose whatever was between her and the hulking slayer walking beside her, either. There was just no way out of hurting someone, no matter how much she tried to think of one.

Gajeel, seeing her expressions change rapidly, suddenly grabbed hold of her hand and pulled her to a stop. She looked up, surprised, only to meet his frown.

"Calm down, Bunny Girl," he spoke relatively softly. "I'll be here the whole time, got it? If anyone starts talkin' shit, I'll kick their asses."

It was unconventional, but it was just so... Gajeel. Lucy couldn't help but smile at him and relax, holding his hand more securely as she leaned into his shoulder. "Alright," she sighed. "I'll focus on the talking, you focus on making sure we both make it out of this alive. And you're taking me on a date tonight, I hope you know."

He made a strangled noise in the back of his throat that sounded something like "Gueh?!" but after a moment, he just let out a laugh. "Alright, Bunny Girl. Whatever. If we make it outta the guild in one piece, I'll take ya out somewhere."

The blonde nodded once, sending him an expression that conveyed false seriousness. "Good." she stated firmly before she giggled and sent him a warm grin.

He just chuckled and shook his head, wondering how long it would take him to get used to the girl's antics. But at the same time, they excited him. He could almost never be sure what would come out of her mouth next, and yet it always managed to entertain him. The slayer's expression morphed into one of determination. Bunny Girl was his, and any stupid bastard that tried taking her away from him was going to die a slow, painful death.

Which probably meant he was going to have to kill the Salamander as soon as the flame brain heard the news, but he wasn't exactly against the idea. At least he'd finally get his rematch.

Suddenly, Lucy froze. Gajeel had been so caught up in his thoughts that he hadn't even realized that they were standing in front of the guild doors. Then, causing him to frown, the blonde pulled her hand away from his and took a couple of steps so that they were no longer pressed against one another. He let out a low growl, to which the girl looked up at him with a sheepish smile.

"I want to try explaining things to Levy-chan before we walk in and make it obvious. She deserves to know before everyone else," she explained.

The dragon slayer nodded a bit, but still grumbled under his breath for a moment. Lucy had to keep herself from giggling at the pouting look on his pierced face. Gray, Juvia and Pantherlily were all silent, watching their exchange and making sure that they were ready before they threw open the guild doors.

"We're back!" Gray and Lucy both called, while Juvia just grinned brightly and waved and Gajeel took his exceed back to their table in the back.

"Back already?" Mirajane smiled pleasantly, speaking over the resounding calls of 'Welcome back!'

"Yeah, after two days of absolutely nothing, the client decided that the threat he got was false," Gray scowled, unconsciously throwing away his shirt as he made his way to a table. Juvia followed him, picking up the discarded clothing and folding it as she sat down next to him. Of course, the domestic scene only lasted as long as it took Natsu to make his way over and pick a fight with the ice mage.

Lucy glanced around nervously for a second before spotting Levy, sitting with the rest of Team Shadow Gear with her nose in a book. The blonde's insides twisted, but a quick glance at Gajeel reminded her that there was more to lose than just her best friend. She took a deep breath and walked up, calling out to the bluenette nervously. "Neh, Levy-chan? Can I talk to you?"

The bookworm in question glanced up and smiled brightly. "Lu-chan, welcome back! What do you need to talk about?" she asked, her eyes darting over to where Gajeel was sitting in his corner, deep in conversation with his cat.

The blonde felt another stab of guilt. "Um... could we talk outside, maybe?" she suggested nervously.

Levy looked up and frowned. "Lu-chan, what's wrong?" she demanded, getting to her feet and putting aside the novel she had been reading. "You look kind of sick. Do you want to go to the infirmary?"

Swallowing deeply, Lucy shook her head. She almost wanted to cry, thinking about what she was about to do to such a sweet girl. "Please, Levy-chan. Can we please just talk somewhere for a bit? Then you'll understand, and..." she wrung her hands and tried to take deep, soothing breaths. "Please."

The bluenette slowly got up, looking extremely nervous. "Okay, Lu-chan... but after we talk, maybe you should go home or get Wendy to take a look at you. Okay?"

The Celestial mage nodded. "I'll go home," she promised quietly, stepping aside to lead her friend out to the training field. They sat down together on the grass, and the blonde took another deep breath. "Levy-chan, I... I'm not even sure how it happened, but while we were on our mission, Gajeel and I got paired up," she began.

Levy nodded her head slowly, gesturing for her to continue.

"We ended up playing around on the beach," Lucy spoke haltingly, "and we started relaxing more around each other. Started actually talking. And I realized that our tastes in guys aren't all that different after all—I even starting thinking we would laugh about it when I got back. And then, I... I'm so sorry, Levy-chan. I didn't even realize that I had started liking him until I already did."

The bookworm's eyes were wide as her brain tried to process what her friend had just told her. She swallowed heavily and turned away, staring out at nothing rather than face those brown eyes full of remorse. "Why would you tell me all this, Lu-chan?" she demanded, her voice coming out cold. "Are you planning on stealing him away from me?"

Lucy winced. "I... I'm sorry..." she once again apologized. "I never meant for this to happen."

Levy turned on her sharply, her expression accusing. "You already took him, didn't you?" she growled out. "You knew I liked him, Lu-chan! What gives you the right to come in and just... just take away my chance with him?! And him! I thought he actually liked me, but he's just like any other guy in the end! All they care about are the size of a girl's chest!"

The blonde knew that she deserved her friend's anger, but she didn't think that Gajeel did. She stood up, her fierce desire to protect him immediately overpowering her previous feelings of guilt. "Don't talk about him that way!" she roared. "He may be an ass sometimes, but you know he's better than that!"

"Do you actually believe that, Lu-chan?" Levy sneered, springing to her feet. "Can you honestly tell me that any guy would look at you twice if it weren't for your looks?!"

Both girls stopped dead, their eyes widening as the words settled. Lucy tried not to cry. "That's how you really see me?" she whispered painfully.

The bluenette was frozen. She knew that there were lots of good things about the blonde, but she had just been so _angry_... Before she could come up with anything else to say, the Celestial mage had turned around and ran back to the guild hall, ignoring the looks or calls after her as she dodged through the brawl and out the front doors until she was standing in the street.

She just ran, not even sure where she was going. Eventually, she tripped on something and fell face-first. Finally, she looked around and realized that she was in the park. Slowly, the blonde got to her feet and threw herself down onto a bench to breath and try to sort out her thoughts, not even caring that she had scraped her knees on the gravel pathway.

Back in the guild, Gajeel was furious. He had listened to the girl's conversation just to be safe, though he had been certain that nothing would really go wrong. But then they had started shouting, and the Shrimp had blurted out some things that he had never thought her capable of. But that wasn't the worst of it—the worst was when Bunny Girl came running back in, only to avoid everyone, even though it was obvious from the smell of tears that she was crying.

He immediately got up to follow her; but then the bookworm ran in after the blonde, looking distraught. The dragon slayer couldn't help but let out a loud growl, drawing the attention of everyone present. Even the brawling ground to a halt as they all turned to see what had gotten the man so upset. None had expected to see him glaring daggers at a teary Levy.

"What the fuck, Shrimp?!" he finally barked angrily. "You know her better than that! Hell, I thought you knew _me_ better than that!" Then the aggravated slayer jumped over his table and sprinted out into the streets, sniffing out his blonde while ignoring the sobs and pissed off shouts that came from behind him.

The bluenette would be taken care of by the guild. He just needed to find where Lucy had gone. As he neared the park, he scented blood and tried not to panic.

But then he saw the blonde—his goddamn _woman_, surrounded by a circle of men. He let loose a roar, taking out two of the five nuisances and letting his presence be known. Lucy pulled out her keys and called Virgo, sparing him a sheepish smile before jumping into the fray together with her spirit.

All in all, it took maybe three minutes to have the men incapacitated. That was also as long as it took for half of Fairy Tail to have chased after him, with that idiot Salamander in the lead. The iron slayer had just almost managed to calm down when the pink-haired moron ran up and jumped between him and his Bunny Girl.

Gajeel let out a low growl. "Move." he warned.

"No way! I don't know what you did to Levy, but I'm not about to let you do it to Lucy, too!" the fire slayer responded.

His growl turned into an enraged roar. The flaming _doofus_ actually thought that he would ever hurt the blonde? "MOVE THE FUCK OUT OF MY WAY!" he yelled furiously, activating his iron scales as a warning.

"NO WAY IN HELL!" the pinkette responded.

"Natsu!" Lucy barked angrily, grabbing his arm and turning him towards her roughly. She glared at him darkly. "Get. Out. Of. His. Way," she hissed out, shoving him as hard as she could back to the gaping spectators.

Gajeel just grunted and deactivated his scales, slightly amused at her treatment of her teammate, before he walked up to the blonde with purposeful strides. "You alright, Bunny Girl?" he demanded, grabbing her chin and pulling her gaze up to his own. "And no, I ain't talkin' about the idiot fuckers over there," he clarified, jerking his head over at the subdued men from earlier. "I heard what the Shrimp said to ya back at the guild."

Her eyes misted over, but she nodded ever so slightly before throwing her arms around his waist and clinging to him desperately. The man let out a heavy sigh, holding her tightly as he awkwardly ran his hand through her hair.

Their guildmates were all stunned, watching one of the least-likely couples that could have ever come together relaxing into each others touch, seeming as though there was nowhere else they would rather be. Not to mention, completely ignoring them.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" Mira finally wailed, falling to her knees as she let out heartbreaking sobs. "MY PAIRINGS!"

The others couldn't help but sweat-drop at her antics.


	4. Day 4: Lonely

Day 4: Lonely

(Again: FT is not mine.)

After the incident in the park, Lucy had insisted on going home if only to avoid the rest of the guild for a little while. Not to mention the fact that she had told Levy-chan that she would before they talked—and a Celestial Spirit mage never goes back on their word. Luckily, she managed to grab Gajeel and run before the rest of the guild had enough time to come down from the shock of their interaction.

The blonde was depressed when they got there, going around and making sure that all doors and windows were locked before flopping down on her couch with a heavy sigh. With a frown, the slayer walked over and sat next to her, pulling her up into his lap without a thought.

"It's alright, Bunny Girl," he assured quietly. "They'll back off in a few days or somethin'."

Lucy just let out another sigh, turning her face so that she nuzzled comfortably into the crook of his neck. "Yeah," she murmured. At such close proximity, the girl couldn't help but notice something that she hadn't had the chance to catch before; his scent. It was something metallic and earthy, like a quarry in the middle of the forest. And something about it just completely relaxed her.

He chuckled a bit, feeling an overwhelming sense of pride that he managed to calm the girl down so much so quickly. But the fact of the matter was, she had just as much effect on him as he had on her. Even as her muscles unwound, his did the same. The man hadn't even realized that he was tense until he felt himself relax, but he supposed that it made since after the day they had had so far.

As much as the slayer wanted to fall asleep with her in his arms again, he forced himself to stand up and carry her into her room. Her face immediately burned a bright crimson, causing him to laugh as he dropped her down onto her bed. He leaned down and gave her a brief kiss, standing back up and waving as he walked out of the room. "Go ahead and get ready for that date you're making me bring you on!" he called over his shoulder.

Lucy was so embarrassed! For a moment there, she'd almost thought that he'd... The girl covered her face with her hands and inwardly screamed. Stupid, stupid! But then she realized that he had done misleading things on purpose to get a rise out of her and she felt herself getting pissed off. A slow, malicious smirk made its way across her face as she jumped off the bed and bolted over to her closet.

He wanted to play? Fine. But she was _not_ going to let him win.

Gajeel grumbled for almost half an hour. What the hell was wrong with that woman?! He had been good; he _hadn't_ jumped her when he honestly wanted nothing more. She was the one that wanted to go on a stupid date, why was he sitting out on her couch while she sang in the shower?!

Of course, he had to admit to himself that she had a pretty decent voice (but not as good as his, obviously!) and maybe, just a little bit, he might have enjoyed the images he got in his head as the scent of her bathing made its way to where he was had moved over to her bed. On that note, the smell of strawberries and vanilla was everywhere—together with... he let out a low growl... cinders and cinnamon. Salamander. Apparently it hadn't just been a rumor that the Flame-brain showed up at her home a lot.

Hell, his goddamn scent was _everywhere_! The iron slayer was pissed off to no end, but at the same time felt something like relief that he had been the one to get the girl in the end—not the pink-haired moron. And Gajeel wasn't planning on ever giving her up, either. The blonde was his.

A dragon's possessiveness was nothing to fuck around with, after all.

Of course, then he was dragged out of those thoughts by the sound of Lucy coming out of the bathroom.

"Finally!" he barked, getting up and finding himself frozen as soon as he turned to look at her.

She was prancing around in a towel, completely ignoring him.

Nothing else; just a towel. She hadn't even dried her hair completely.

Holy fuck, he was screwed.

====Back at the guild====

Everyone had managed to gather, all still feeling rather stunned at the revelation from Juvia that Lucy and Gajeel had feelings for each other. Oh, and they were sort of dating, just not officially.

Natsu summed up everyone's thoughts pretty well, actually. "What the hell?! WHEN DID THAT EVEN HAPPEN?!"

Mirajane was still sulking over the destruction of two of her favorite pairings (NatsuxLucy and GajeelxLevy) and had refused to serve anyone while she wrapped her mind around the loss. Cana, among with several others, were very openly upset with that decision. But the drunk was the only one brave enough to actually say anything, considering how crabby she was at being cut off and almost sober.

"Oh, come on! Get over it! If Lucy and Gajeel want to be together, what's wrong with that? It's not like they cheated on anyone or something! Now please, just HAND OVER THE BOOZE!""

Mira glared at her. "They did cheat!" she defended hotly. "In my mind, they were already coupled up with Natsu and Levy!"

"Your failed mind pairings are keeping me away from drinking?!" Cana wailed.

Gildarts promptly dragged his daughter out of the guild with promises of going to a bar, just so long as she stopped trying to get the demon matchmaker to kill her. Cana, though still holding to the opinion that it was all good as long as they were happy together, agreed immediately. She adored Lucy, and was determined to stick on the blonde's side no matter what.

But she was soooo close to losing her buzz, and she couldn't risk that! The hangover would have her out of it for days!

Mira, without the distraction of the brunette's whining, found herself back to brooding darkly while everyone else tried to absorb the news. The white-haired woman would normally be thrilled that there was any new couple, but... her matchmaking schemes had all gone to ruin! All the little pink-haired babies with brown eyes, or the little blue-haired babies with red eyes! GONE!

And now Levy and Freed were sitting together, the green-haired man drawn by the bluenette's slightly demonic aura and the fact that she was drowning her sorrows in a mountain of books. Mira could almost cry. But at the same time, she was the demon Mirajane! She would not let such things bring her down! She would simply crush all opposition into dust!

Oh, and if the little bookworms got any cozier, she would vaporize them both. Just because she and the rune mage were keeping their relationship secret did not mean that the barmaid would simply laugh it off if she had to watch him get close to other girls.

But first: Gajeel and Lucy.

===Back at the Apartment===

Lucy kept trying to remember how she and the dragon slayer below her had gotten themselves into this position. She was pretty sure that he had grabbed her arm and set her off-balance, but he continued to argue that she had simply tripped. Regardless; they were in a considerably embarrassing situation.

Somehow, on the way to the floor, the blonde's towel had slipped down to her hips. Not that the slayer had seen anything—oh, but he certainly felt it. Especially with the way they fell, with her extensive chest pressed tightly against his ribs and her knees resting between his own.

And then someone broke the front door down, causing the girl to let out a terrified shriek as she clutched the man beneath her's shirt. He sat up instantly, wrapping his arms protectively around her as he shot a withering glare at the intruders. Goddammit, he would recognize those scents anywhere.

"What do you want, Demon Woman?" he demanded dangerously. "Salamander?" Considering Natsu's fists were on fire and Mira was already in her Satan Soul, he could assume that they weren't there for a friendly visit.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO LUCE?!" the fire mage roared, darting into the room to try and land a flaming punch to the other man's face.

Gajeel knew what was coming and growled. "Iron Dragon's Club!" he barked, using his magic to send the opposing slayer straight through one of the walls.

"MY APPARTMENT!" Lucy shrieked, completely horrified. The Landlady would kill her! "If you're going to fight, take it outside!" she demanded, jolting upright and temporarily forgetting her lack of dress.

Gajeel got a slight nosebleed as Mira pouted at being ignored. Natsu climbed back in through the hole he'd been tossed through, staring at the blonde with a dumbfounded look on his face.

"Luce, why are you imitating Gray?"

The girl in question finally looked down and let out an ear-splitting scream, causing the dragon slayers to clap their hands over their ears as pain rocketed through their heads.

"Shit, Bunny Girl! That hurt!" Gajeel groaned.

Natsu just whimpered in agreement as Lucy grabbed her keys and ran into the bathroom, slamming the door with enough force that the wood cracked. A desperate "Open, Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" was heard, along with the telltale arrival of the masochistic maid spirit.

While that was happening, the dragon slayers got over their pain to shoot deadly glares at one another.

"What do you want with Luce?" the fire slayer demanded.

Gajeel sneered at him and jumped to his feet. "And just why the fuck do you care, Salamander? She's _mine_. And I hafta say, I'm gettin' pretty damn tired of you hangin' offa her the way you always do."

Natsu growled. "_Yours_?" he hissed out incredulously, his flames flickering around him menacingly.

"That's right, asshole. _Mine_." Gajeel repeated, iron scales already starting to form on his arms as he glowered darkly. "And you've got no fuckin' right to be prancin' around here like you've got a claim on her."

Their snarls rose in volume as Mira stepped in between them, the peaceful look on her face completely at odds with her current appearance. "Now, now. Calm down, boys," she tried placating them. "Ah, Gajeel. I came here to ask something. Why, exactly, did you choose Lucy over Levy?" the white-haired mage questioned, turning her full attention on the iron slayer.

The man in question shifted a bit uncomfortably, tensing up when he heard the bathroom door creak open. "My instincts," he informed his interrogator stiffly. "They tell me Bunny's the one for me. Not Shrimp."

Lucy took her place next to the man, reaching out and gripping his hand in a gesture that caused the both of them to relax a bit. They were a united front—and the two in front of them had damn well better understand that.

Mirajane was frowning. "Instincts?" she repeated slowly. "You destroyed my dreams of Fairy Tail babies for _instincts_?!"

The couple flinched as a wave of dark energy washed over them, causing Lucy to reach for her keys reflexively. Her fingers barely brushed over Loke's key, getting ready to summon him if need be, when yet another person walked calmly into the room.

"Gajeel? Mirajane? What are you doing here?" Erza questioned, slightly surprised.

"OI!" Gajeel protested. "I'm her goddamn boyfriend, what's wrong with me being here! _He's_ the one comin' in here breaking down the fuckin' door!" he barked out, jabbing an accusing finger in the fire slayer's direction.

The redhead's eyes widened for a moment, surprised that the two were now together. Had she really missed so much on her mission? And then she saw the property damage. Turning a menacing glare on Natsu, she approached him purposefully. "What. Did. You. Do?" she demanded, her dark aura even overpowering Mirajane's.

Speaking of the white-haired mage, she took this as her cue to duck out and run back to the bar to play innocent.

Natsu, on the other hand, wasn't anywhere near so lucky. At least Erza was quick about it and kept any extra damage to her teammate's home to a minimum. She simply punched the pink-haired boy once in the stomach and he fell over, unconscious. The redhead threw him over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and headed back for the door, promising to give him appropriate punishment after she had taken him somewhere less populated. Then she suddenly stopped and turned to look at the blonde. "Lucy," she spoke with authority, but her cheeks were dusted with pink. "We must discuss how this relationship between you and Gajeel came to be. Meet me at the guild in an hour and we'll go on a mission together."

Which was pretty much Erza-speak for 'we need girl time! No is not an option!'

Lucy let out a sigh and nodded, knowing that she didn't really have a choice. Even Gajeel seemed to have accepted the reality, though his scowl had only deepened. Erza, now satisfied, left without another word.

The blonde turned to her slayer with an apology on her lips, but found that it was silenced before it could be voiced. He kissed her fiercely, expressing all the emotions he didn't know how to convey in words, and she couldn't fight the feeling of happiness that bubbled up in the pit of her stomach. She wrapped her arms tightly around the back of his neck, feeling his own snake around her waist to pull her tighter against him.

It soon turned into another make-out session, leaving both teens panting for air and red in the face. But they had conveyed what they needed conveyed, so Gajeel reluctantly let the girl go so that she could prepare for whatever mission it was that Erza had shanghaied her into.

"At least maybe I'll be able to pay for repairs with the reward," Lucy mused as they tried to lock the door behind them. Needless to say, Gajeel had needed to fix it closed with his magic after promising to take out the iron as soon as she got the door repaired. The blonde had pouted, but agreed after realizing that it was basically the only thing she could do at the moment to keep her possessions safe.

They grabbed dinner before heading to the guild, but it wasn't the date that either of them had anticipated. No; they ate relatively quickly, not really having much time to sit and talk before Lucy had to meet Erza.

As they made the slow walk up to the rowdy building, their hold on the others hand tightened considerably. Neither knew how long the mission would take, and they were almost afraid of being torn apart so quickly after coming together.

Even as the redhead dragged Lucy to the train station, the dragon slayer tagged along behind them. The blonde could tell that he was sulking, and felt her heart warm as she turned to smile at him. All too soon, the girls had to board their train. Lucy quickly got up on her tiptoes and gave the slayer a soft kiss.

An embarrassed Erza pulled her away, tugging her into the train as the blonde sent Gajeel a melancholy wave. Then as the machine started moving away, something unpleasant and almost acidic settled into both of their stomachs, though neither knew that the other was experiencing the same thing.

Their separation immediately filled them both with loneliness and longing so deep that it felt like a physical pain.

Gajeel was in shock, knowing that he and the blonde weren't even mates yet. So why was their bond already affecting him like they were? If it was there in him, was it also causing the Spirit mage the same discomfort? He growled in the back of his throat, watching the train disappear from view and wishing deep inside his heart that he had stayed with her regardless of the Titania's wrath.

Lucy was in a similar state, taken completely off-guard by the sudden waves of raw emotion. Erza panicked slightly when the blonde hunched over with a pained look on her face, immediately worried that her companion was injured or sick. Lucy just waved her off, insisting that she was fine while just wishing to herself that Gajeel was holding her again. Being away from him was making it almost hard to breath. But why? They had been just fine before, barely seeing or speaking to one another... What about coming together had made things change so drastically?

Unknowingly, the two both looked up at the sky wistfully and had the same exact thought:

_ 'I'll never be able to live without him/her again, will I?'_


	5. Day 5: Communication

Day 5: Communication

(Yet again, FT is not mine. Sorry it's so late today!)

"Lucy?" Erza called out. They were on the second day of their week-long mission, but the blonde had been getting less and less responsive as the minutes ticked by. Her depression practically hung over her like a cloud.

"Hm?" she mumbled, glancing over at the redhead with a vacant expression.

The requip mage frowned. "Lucy, would you care to tell me what's wrong?"

"Well..." the girl let out a melancholy sigh, her eyes drifting over to their hotel room window to stare up at the sky. "It's just something silly."

"Tell me," the Titania insisted gently, sitting down next to her on one of the beds.

Slowly, the Celestial mage nodded and opened her mouth. "I just... really, really miss Gajeel," she admitted quietly, glancing briefly at her older friend before turning her attention back to the drifting clouds. "It's _painful_, Erza. And I really have no idea why. It's like... like when he's holding me, I'm whole. I didn't even know that I wasn't before, but now... it hurts."

The redhead frowned, trying to make sense of her friend's words.

Lucy, not sure what to make of her silence, continued to squirm nervously. Finally, she reached for her key ring. "I-I can always ask Capricorn or Crux. They might know something..."

Erza thought it over for a moment before nodding. "If you believe that they would have some answers, that would probably be the best idea," she agreed. After having watched the blonde's mood deteriorating steadily since they stepped foot on the train, she was eager to find a solution.

The younger girl nodded, picking off a specific key before holding it up in the air to call out the incantation. "Open, gate of the sea-goat! Capricorn!"

The goat spirit stood before them, bowing slightly before glancing around. "How meh I be of service?"

"Well, the thing is..." The girl rapidly gave her spirit the facts, looking to him desperately for answers as he seemed to be deep in thought for a few minutes.

"It is not unheard of for a Celestial mage to have premonitions," the spirit spoke slowly. "Your mother once told meh that she could roughly predict when something important was going to happen in her life or the lives of those close to her. It is possible that you have inherited that sense, the stronger connection to the Celestial Plain than to Earthland."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Erza demanded.

The goat-man raised a brow at her, unimpressed with the redhead's impatience. "If you would allow meh to explain... it means that her magical energy is less grounded than yours or another mage's. It is more perceptible to linking and blending with the magics of those that her fate is tightly bound to. And as it would appear that she is this dragon slayer's true mate, her instincts are reacting much like his own. While they are both feeling the pull to claim their bond, the fact that their magics are already mingled mean that they are already, in some ways, mated."

The girls both turned a bright red. "M-... Mated?!" Erza squeaked, her face rivaling the color of her hair.

"W-what do you mean, 'true mate'?" Lucy questioned quietly. "I mean, I've researched dragon slayers before, so I understand that they can only have one mate in their whole lives. But... I've never heard that term before..."

The spirit inclined his head in acknowledgment. "It is meh understanding from meh discussions with Draco, that a mate is not _chosen_. It is a destined bond formed the moment a dragon comes into being—a link between the two's spirits. And as Miss Lucy is a spirit mage, her link with the slayer is awakening draconic instincts inside of her, as well. What she—and her slayer, most likely—are currently experiencing is known to occur when the bond of mates is tested. In other words, the fact that they are separated is effecting them physically."

"Gajeel is also in pain?" Lucy shouted desperately, leaping to her feet immediately in concern. Her own discomfort was immediately disregarded in her anxiety for the slayer's well being.

Capricorn nodded calmly. "Indeed. However, the pain will disappear as soon as you come back into contact with one another."

The blonde immediately began packing, much to the surprise of her older friend. "I have to get back to him," she declared. "I can't just leave him to be feeling like this if I can help him."

Erza reached out and caught her arm. "No, Lucy. Calm down for a moment. We have to finish the mission first."

Their eyes met and the redhead was shocked by the look on the younger girl's face. It was full of longing so tangible that it was painful, a desire strong enough that it could only be described as a need. Slowly, the Titania released her hold and gave the blond a nod.

"Very well," she murmured. "Go to him. I will complete the request. However, I want you to go to Master and explain this to him. Understood?"

Lucy gave the girl a wide, excited grin as she jumped up and hugged her tightly. "Yes, of course! Thank you, Erza! So much!" she squealed. For a moment, Erza was shocked; she hadn't seen her friend smile like that in several days. But she quickly returned the hug, smiling softly to herself as she helped to pack the rest of the younger girl's belongings.

Capricorn simply bowed and left, interested in sharing the developments with not only Lucy's other spirits, but the Spirit King and Draco as well. Though, he had a feeling that Leo wouldn't take the news too well...

Within half an hour, the blonde was on the next train to Magnolia.

===Back at the guild===

Gajeel was sitting in his secluded corner, his head buried in his arms as he bent over the table. It had only been two days—not even _full_ days. And he was already felt like he was going crazy. Normally he would just get caught up in the guild brawls and left off some emotional steam that way, but there were a couple of problems with that idea. One, he just couldn't work himself up enough to give a damn.

Two, the brawls were becoming more and more serious. The old geezer had been holed up in his office with Laxus working on paperwork, and the Titania was still on a mission with the Bunny Girl—which meant that there was no one present to put a stop to the escalation. Not to mention the fact that the increasing hostility between guildmates was partially his fault. It had all started with the incident with the Shrimp.

Once everyone found out about Gajeel and Lucy being an item, they had been going bat shit insane. Some of them supported the relationship, some didn't care—but some were very strongly against it. They had been arguing about it ever since.

And he just couldn't find it in himself to give a fuck.

Lily had started to worry about his partner, having never seen him turn down a fight before. It had started to occur to the exceed that he might have been a little rash in assuming that the slayer's connection to the blonde mage was purely physical. There was something more to them, he was beginning to see. Nothing had ever effected the slayer in such a way before.

"Oi, GAJEEL!" Natsu snarled, coming up and slamming his hands down on the iron slayer's table. "Fight me!"

The man in question barely glanced up before burrowing his face back into his arms childishly. "Go the fuck away, Salamander," he grumbled quietly. "Go pick a brawl with someone else..."

The pinkette growled darkly. Gray, seeing Gajeel's predicament, let out a sigh and threw a hunk of ice at the back of the fire slayer's head. "Oi, flame-brain!" he shouted over the noise. "Stop picking fights with metal-head just because Lucy picked him over you! Moron."

And without another issue, Natsu was off trying to bash the ice mage's face into the wall instead of the iron slayer's.

"Gajeel?" Pantherlily called softly.

"What?" the man grunted.

"Lucy should be back soon, you know?" he tried to reassure calmly. "I'm sorry for accusing you of making a bad choice with her. I should have known that you weren't the type to pursue someone for their appearance."

The slayer sighed, turning his face ever so slightly so that one of his red eyes peeked out from the curtain of raven hair. He grunted again. "She's my mate," he admitted quietly. "The one female that belongs with me and me with her. Once I realized that, there was no going back."

Lily's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Before he could answer, he suddenly jolted upright. "Lucy," he murmured, his eyes boring into the guild doors intently. There was a desperate light flickering in his ruby eyes, surprising the exceed even more.

And then the doors swung open and Lucy dashed inside, still dragging her suitcase with her.

Gajeel vaulted over the table, marching purposefully towards the blonde as she pushed past the crowd surrounding her, asking her what had happened. She finally elbowed Natsu out of the way with a harsh glare, only to promptly find that she could breath again. The iron slayer's arms had wrapped around her waist, bringing her back tightly against his chest.

"Lucy," he whispered tenderly, nuzzling his face into the crook of her neck.

The blonde in question immediately relaxed against him, closing her eyes as her world fell back into place. "Hey, Gajeel," she murmured back, the same tone of relief in her voice as his own. "So, I had a talk with Capricorn."

"Hm?" he hummed, not even moving from his position as he took in her scent.

Of course, this was also the moment that their audience decided to make themselves known.

"OI!" Natsu roared, grabbing hold of Lucy's arm and tugging her violently away from the other slayer. "DON'T TOUCH HER, IRON FREAK! Luce, you okay? Why are you back so soon?"

Neither Gajeel nor Lucy were pleased with the development.

"Don't touch her?" the iron slayer growled darkly. "You're telling ME not to touch her? SHE'S MINE, SALAMANDER! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT SHOULDN'T BE TOUCHING HER, ASSHOLE!"

"Natsu, let me go!" the blonde shouted, trying to wriggle out of his ever-tightening grasp.

"Oi, flame-brain!" Gray barked. "Let her loose!"

"No way!" the pinkette hissed, swatting away the ice mage's reaching arms. "I don't know what that iron face did to her on your mission with them, but there's no way she's thinking straight! He's just using her!"

"LIKE HELL I DID, YOU BASTARD!" Gajeel roared.

"He's right, Natsu!" Lucy growled under her breath. "I'm his true mate, you idiot! Stop being an ass!"

All dragon slayers present jolted in surprise. Natsu's hold on her immediately dropped, along with his jaw.

"You knew?" Gajeel murmured, reaching out and capturing her hand.

She blushed. "I found out," she admitted softly. "Capricorn. When Erza and I asked him what was going on, he told me some things he'd heard about from Draco."

Slowly, the iron slayer's face lit up into a wide grin. "So I was right."

"C-congratulations!" Wendy stated with pink cheeks.

Natsu just stood there, looking like he'd been sucker-punched.

Finally, the master's head poked out of his office, together with Laxus's. "What's all the noise about, brats?" he called out.

"Ah, Master!" Lucy jumped. "Actually, there was something I needed to talk to you about."

He looked at them curiously, but nodded, gesturing for her to come up to his office. She grabbed Gajeel's hand and pulled him behind her while Laxus exited the office and joined his team at their table. Once they were seated, Makarov grinned at them brightly.

"So, I hear the two of you have recently started seeing each other?" he questioned.

Lucy nodded. "That's kind of what I needed to talk to you about," she admitted, launching straight into the explanation.

By the time she was done, the old man's eyes were wide. "I see..." he murmured. "And the guild is taking it badly?"

The blonde nodded, while Gajeel just glanced at the closed door with a glare.

"I see," he repeated, going deep into thought. "I would think that they're just having difficulty adapting. It might take some time." Then the door busted open and Natsu tried charging inside, only to have Laxus yank him back out with a loud admonishment. Makarov gaped at the portal as it swung shut again, letting out a heavy sigh as he slumped in his seat. "It may be a good idea for the two of you to get away for a while..." he grumbled.

"Eh?" Lucy squeaked. Even Gajeel looked surprised, gripping the girl's hand more tightly.

"Actually," the master mused, his expression becoming slightly mischievous, "I think I have the perfect mission for you two..."


	6. Day 6: Guilt

Day 6: Guilt

(As an extra apology for not getting yesterday's prompt published quite as quickly as I was wanting to, I'm making this chapter a bit longer. Hope you like it! As always, FT isn't mine.)

===in the guild===

It had been six months since Gajeel and Lucy had come out of Makarov's office, telling the guild that they were going on a long-term assignment. Pantherlily had immediately announced that he was accompanying them, which had caused the slayer to grin widely as the partners both ignored the guild's uproar.

No one knew what their mission was, since the master hadn't been willing to tell them. Mainly because Natsu (and maybe even others) would refuse to stay behind, no matter how sternly the old man told them they were forbidden from following the couple. The only thing that he told them was that the two could be gone from anywhere between three and ten years, much to the displeasure of his beloved brats.

For the first couple of months, the fire dragon slayer had raged about how Lucy was supposed to be _his_ partner, that iron-face couldn't just steal her, that it didn't even matter if they were true mates, it just wasn't _fair_! And so on. But as time went by, he just missed her. Missed his best friend. She had been happy to be with Gajeel, and there was nothing he could do about it.

Most people had finally calmed down and agreed that if the two were still an item when they got back, then the guild really owed it to them to celebrate it—Fairy Tail style. That way they could all get slobbering drunk, whether they were happy about it or not, and then get back to their normal routines.

Levy had taken to long bouts of being antisocial, sitting in the corner that Gajeel and Pantherlily had since abandoned and hiding behind a mountain of books. It took the Raijinshuu to drag her on missions again. Freed had taken his concern for his fellow bookworm to Laxus, who had finally just walked up, thrown the bluenette over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and motioned for his loyal followers to hurry and catch up. She'd been tagging along with them pretty often ever since.

Mira took the longest to come around, but after Erza dropped the hint of blonde babies with deep red eyes, the matchmaker was hooked. She became one of the couple's biggest supporters, turning her attention to some of the other pairings in the guild that she determined would make the most adorable offspring (and Elfman and Evergreen, even if she just couldn't imagine them having pretty babies).

But the whole guild—whether they had been for or against the couple—felt their absence. Team Natsu disbanded, with Gray partnering up with his (after a lot of thought and maybe a bit of alcohol) fiance; Juvia. The other two went solo for a while, until Lisanna finally coaxed the resident pinkette out of the guild together with Happy. Erza stayed a solo mage, but tended to be around the guild more often to help take care of things whenever the master's health took a turn for the worst.

All in all, Fairy Tail was quite a bit more subdued than when Lucy and Gajeel were there to rile them up—Lucy with her cheerful and loving disposition to get anyone to smile, and Gajeel with his arrogant and competitive one that could drag anybody into a brawl. And then Pantherlily, the stoic exceed with the heart of gold; Charle and Happy had even agreed to take him fishing as soon as he returned.

Everyone could agree that a few apologies were in order once the three returned home. It was just driving them crazy (or, you know, more so) that it was taking so long, and they had no solid time-line or assurance that they were doing well.

If only they knew...

===in a forest halfway across Fiore===

"Fucking hell!" Gajeel cursed hotly, stomping around the undergrowth as he searched out the scent of strawberries and vanilla. Why had they thought it would be a good idea to split up in the first place? Oh, that's right—because he thought that his damn cat was going to be there to keep an eye on his girlfriend and keep her safe. But no, they just _had_ to find some lost little kid in the middle of the fucking woods!

And being the softies they were, Lucy had insisted that Lily fly the brat home while she kept looking around. It wasn't that he didn't want them helping the kid—hell, he would've done the same—but goddammit, he was worried. If only the cat had at least left the communications lacrima with the blonde! It wouldn't be hard to find _him_ in a little village; but it was damn near impossible to find _her_ in the middle of so many trees.

When they had first gotten the damn mission, he was pretty pissed—fuck, it wasn't every day you got told to go find a dragon. And when you did hear about it, it's usually for two things; to kill the creature, or to steal the secrets of slaying magic. In his opinion, it was seriously fucked up. And once he had explained his reaction to his Bunny Girl, she had joined him in his indignation.

But Makarov promised that it wasn't for anything like that. The requester was simply wanting some shed scales to make a cloak with. And the reward was fucking insane—10,000,000 jewels. They probably would have taken the job even without the old man ordering them to.

But here the iron dragon slayer was, almost a year into the mission, and he had managed to lose his girlfriend. He was beginning to resent the whole situation.

Lucy, on the other hand, was rather enjoying herself. The forest was infested with monsters, and she was never able to really have a decent fight with her overprotective dragon slayer around. So the fact that she was able to go ahead and defend herself from a wyvern with her own magic was something that not only made her feel proud, but exhilarated as well.

Then again, maybe she was just picking up on Gajeel's love of fighting... Huh. That might not be such a good thing.

The only problem was that she was magically exhausted, which meant that she couldn't call out her Canes Venatici key to have her hunting dog spirits track down the dragon slayer. So she was stuck wandering in the woods until either she stumbled across him, or (more likely) he managed to sniff her out. Admittedly, she did feel kind of bad; she knew he would be worried about her being off on her own.

But she needed a chance to get out and use her magic every now and then, too!

Letting out a sigh, the blonde girl wandered over to a tree and sat down on the ground, leaning her back against the rough bark as she closed her eyes to meditate. The sooner her energy was back, the sooner she could find Gajeel. Admittedly, that would mean that she would have to listen to him growl for a few minutes, but that was still better than leaving him alone with his concern.

Also, it had been a few hours since they'd had breakfast together. Her body was starting to wear down; she was getting hungry, and their spiritual link was putting a bit of a strain on her. They'd both eventually learned how to deal with the depression and anxiety of being apart for short periods of time, but neither one of them liked it.

Testing her magic a bit, Lucy smiled. She'd regained enough to call Asterion and Chara. Standing up, the blonde reached for her keys (whose numbers had grown a bit since they'd started their mission) and plucked off one of the silvers. Holding it up in the air and focusing her magic power, she called out "Open, gate of the hunting dogs! Canes Venatici!" and the two silver and white hounds came through, greeting her with enthusiastically waving tails. The girl grinned, kneeling down to their level to give them both exuberant ear-rubs while they licked her face. She giggled. "Hey, guys! Think you can help me find Gajeel?" she pleaded.

Chara, the smaller dog with a little bit of a yellowish hue to her fur, yipped excitedly while Asterion, the larger one, ran around for a few moments with his nose to the ground. Finally, he bayed and pointed in a specific direction. Chara ran after him a moment later, followed closely by Lucy. The hounds kept up a fast pace that left their master a bit out of breath, but it wasn't like she could summon Auriga to help her keep up. The forest path wasn't exactly suitable for the charioteer.

At least she didn't have to run long. The blonde had just come upon a beautiful clearing with a stream running through it when Gajeel hurtled out of the trees and she found herself being tackled by him. She shrieked in surprise, but he twisted around with her in his hold so that he hit the ground with her on top of him. The dogs whined at being ignored, but the wagging of their tails showed that they, too, were happy to see the dragon slayer.

The man turned to greet them, releasing one hand from Lucy's waist to give them each a short petting. When the arm returned to its place, they knew that they were as good as dismissed and bowed slightly.

"Thanks, guys," Lucy called out, her voice slightly muffled by her slayer's chest. She wriggled around until she could face her spirits and gave them a bright grin. "You were both a big help—it probably would have taken another hour for this big lug to find me without you two around. You can go back now."

With another happy yip, the spirits were gone.

And Lucy and Gajeel found themselves alone; something that didn't happen all that often with Pantherlily always around. Which meant that they were in some deep shit, considering the sexual tension was palpable.

They had both been working hard for the past year to tamp down their instincts to claim the other as their mate; Gajeel in particular was faced with more than one instance where he had damn near crumbled. It was only the fact that Lily was always either right there or in the next room that had managed to keep him in check.

"… Fuck," he hissed longingly under his breath, feeling her form fit so perfectly against his own. But then he remembered that he was supposed to be upset at her for being reckless and started grumbling loudly. "Oi, Bunny Girl. If you were gonna run off on yer own, ya shoulda at least taken the damn communications lacrima."

She sighed. And there she thought for a second that he had forgotten and they were having a moment. The man ranted on for a while, until she decided to shut him up. "Gajeel," she called out, propping herself up on her elbows. He seemed to have forgotten that she was still laying on top of him, and the blonde had an idea to use that to her advantage.

"What?" he grunted sourly, meeting her warm brown eyes with his own red ones.

She gave him a bright smile. "You're rambling," she informed him. "I was perfectly fine on my own—I even took down a wyvern, you know? Now, can't you think of a better use for that mouth? I know I can."

The slayer's eyes widened, but his mouth slowly lifted into a confident smirk. "Really now?" he murmured, running his fingers up and down her spine.

She shivered. "Mm," she hummed in pleased affirmation. "Now are you going to hurry up and kiss me or not?"

His smirk turned into a predatory grin. "I dunno, Bunny. Am I?" he challenged teasingly, his hand dipping a bit lower to brush against her hip. Her breathing hitched and he slowly dragged her shirt up a bit so that he could touch the bare skin of her lower back. God, she was so soft... The slayer leaned up a bit, blowing lightly on her neck before placing a soft kiss against her jaw. "That what you wanted?"

Oh, he was such a bastard sometimes. She hissed under her breath, turning her demanding gaze on him. "Damn it, Gajeel. Tease me much longer and I'll just shove you down and do whatever I want to you."

It was his turn to shiver. That should _not_ have sounded so tempting. Fucking hell, he was a _dragon slayer_! He was supposed to be dominating and possessive and—oh. Damn. She started feathering kisses along his collar bone, causing a low growl to bubble up out of his throat that sounded far too much like a purr for the man's comfort.

The girl giggled, tracing the piercings on his face with a fingertip. "Oh? Is the big bad slayer part feline?" she teased, causing him to let out a more annoyed (and slightly embarrassed) grumble. Inside, she was thrilling over the newly discovered reaction. Really, they'd been together for over a year; but they had never really had enough physical contact. After all, they were both young. They had plenty of hormones. But there was always someone around—namely Pantherlily.

And it was just made more difficult with the knowledge that the other was feeling the exact same way as they were. Instincts could be such a bitch.

Gajeel let out a light sigh. "Lucy," he murmured. "We need to figure some shit out. Fuck, we both know we're destined. But then there's the whole issue with finding my dad. If we... claimed each other... you could get pregnant. And that's not exactly a good idea on a long journey."

The girl let out a sigh of her own. "There is such a thing as birth control," she grumbled, sitting up so that she was straddling his waist and looking straight into his eyes. "What's the real problem, Gajeel?"

He winced. Damn, she could always read him. "Metallicana... I know he'll like ya. But he's a real uptight bastard—all dragons are. There are certain rules and traditions that you just don't break unless ya want yer ass kicked. And one of the rules about claimin' a mate is approval of the parents."

Her eyes widened. "But... both of mine are dead. How does that work?"

The man let out a sigh, his fingers unconsciously tracing random patterns along her back. "That's not really the problem... Master already gave his approval when he sent us on this mission together. Since he's practically in the position of yer guardian, that counts as bein' accepted. It's my dad that's the issue, since..."

The blonde's face colored with understanding. "Since we don't know where he is," she completed. "So you're wanting to wait until we've found him and get him to accept me as your mate?"

He sighed. "Not so much that I wanna, more like he'll beat me til I'm half dead if I make the wrong move."

"Eh?" she squeaked, a little surprised. Then again, she supposed that she shouldn't have been that shocked. It wasn't exactly like a person such as Gajeel could have been raised by someone ordinary. Moreover, he was a dragon. Obviously human reasoning couldn't be expected from him. Her face took on a contemplative, slightly fearful expression. "But... what happens if we can't find him?"

The slayer shook his head, giving her a determined look. "We will," he assured firmly. After a few seconds, he flopped back and let out a sigh. "I mean... we will, right?" he murmured.

It wasn't often that Gajeel showed his more vulnerable side; obviously he was having the same concerns as she was. Her hands rubbed soothingly up and down his arms, her temple lowing to rest comfortably against his chest. "We'd better," she chirped lightly. "Our kids are going to need a grandparent, after all."

That did the trick. He immediately lightened up, barking out an easy laugh as he wrapped her more tightly into his arms. "Yeah," he agreed. "You, me an' Lily'll live at our house in the woods—he and me built it a while ago. 'S got a couple extra rooms, too. And the shitty lizard can find a cave nearby, so he and Lily can take care of the kids when we need some... alone time," he smirked, gripping her hip provocatively as he spoke.

She hummed softly. "I'd like that," she admitted, her hands snaking around to run through his hair. After a few seconds of comfortable silence, she sighed. "Hey, Gajeel?" she called in an insecure voice so soft it was almost a whisper. His stomach twisted at the sound of it. "Do you really think your dad will like me?"

"Fuck yeah!" he assured. "You're powerful, you're gorgeous, you're fucking brilliant... Damn—if he was human, he might even try to steal you from me. Go ahead and expect him to talk about shit like how we'd better have strong kids, though."

The girl giggled and rolled her eyes a bit.

"You think I'm jokin', don't ya?" the slayer chuckled. Oh, she would be in for a surprise if that was the case.

"Not really," she denied. "Just thinking—if we had a girl with your strength and my looks, you would have another excuse to pick fights when she gets older. Men would be flocking from everywhere for a chance with her, you know."

He growled under his breath at the thought. "That's it. We're only havin' boys."

The girl laying on top of him laughed loudly at that. "Oh, really?" she teased. "Do you have a way to ensure that?"

"Shut up," he grumbled with a pout. She just laughed louder.

"I support at least one male," a deep, gruff voice suddenly spoke. It was a low, resounding baritone that practically made the trees quiver and the couple immediately shot up onto their feet. Something peeked from between the branches, glittering in the afternoon sunlight.

Slowly, Gajeel's expression changed from caution into disbelief.

"Dad?!" he yelped.

Lucy's eyes widened. "EH?!" she squeaked. They had just been talking about the dragon, and all of a sudden he was coming out of nowhere and joining their conversation? What on Earthland was that about?!

Slowly, a dark gray, finely-scaled head snaked into their clearing, amused red eyes watching them even as the crimson pools scrutinized every aspect of the two humans. His moved slowly, with a grace that seemed impossible for such a large creature—he had to be at least twice as big as their guild hall! But even with the beauty and apparent calm of his movements, his appearance didn't stop there.

His body was sporadically covered in large clusters of dangerous-looking spikes, jotting out all over his face and along his spine—but the two most apparent ones were situated on the top of his head, spiraling out from a space slightly above his ears. They almost resembled a goat's horns, but were obviously far more deadly. His claws, too, were also quite the sight to behold. They were retractable, but the razor-edged tips would extend just far enough to pierce perhaps a foot into the ground with every measured step that he took.

But his most breathtaking feature had to be his wings. Even though they were folded snugly against his back, it was obvious that they were just as huge as the rest of him; but the scales along them were more delicate, almost as if they had been finely crafted to allow him more flexibility in the limbs than the thick, armor-like protection all along the rest of his bulk.

The dragon came to rest beside the stream, still observing them with an expression that resembled amusement as his long tail came to wrap along his side and across his forelimbs. "Took ya long enough! Fuck, I've been waiting for this since that Phantom Lord shit!" he declared with a familiar sounding 'gihihi!'.

All of a sudden, it was quite obvious to the girl just where her boyfriend had picked up his speech patterns.

Gajeel, however, winced at the reminder that he had once almost beaten his true mate to death on a sadistic whim. Then he realized—how the hell did the damn lizard know about that?! His expression must have revealed his thoughts, because the dragon practically fell over laughing his ass off.

"Ya really thought I'd just leave and not even keep an eye on ya, stupid brat? It's not like I actually _wanted_ to disappear like a little bitch. An' if ya still feel guilty about that shit, just say sorry. Ya got a helluva female there—she won't give a fuck," the dragon grinned provokingly.

Lucy hadn't even known that many teeth could exist in a single mouth.

Gajeel just snarled, obviously not liking being told what to do. Not to mention the fact that his father figure had basically just admitted to having ditched him and then spying on him for something like fifteen, almost sixteen years.

The blonde, finally recovered from the sight of sharp canines the size of large trees lined up in two perfect rows, glanced over at the man next to her. She thought it over for a second before frowning in confusion. "You mean you're still bothered about that?" she blurted out incredulously.

Both males stared at her, surprised at her sudden words.

"Huh?" Gajeel gaped. Did she seriously just imply that she didn't even give a fuck? He had tortured and almost murdered her!

She just shrugged. "I already forgave you for that a _long_ time ago," the blonde stated simply, as if it was common knowledge. "I'm honestly kind of shocked that you're still holding onto it."

His brain sort of shut down, refusing to believe that the situation was really happening at that point. First, his dragon father was there and had been watching him since the bastard left. Second, his true mate—who he had almost _killed_, and who had every reason to to hate him... didn't even care.

Then something hit his head. Hard.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" he yelped, falling to his knees as he clutched his throbbing skull.

"That's what ya get for spacin' out!" Metallicana chastised harshly, relaxing back into his previous position; namely, wrapping his tail back around his forelimbs after smacking some reality back into his adoptive son with it. "And hell yeah I approve of this female. Now hurry the fuck up and claim her already; ya need to have some strong hatchlings so I can train 'em!"

The dragon turned around to walk off, leaving the two in silence as they tried to process what had just happened. Suddenly, Gajeel jumped back to his feet and bolted off in the same direction. Lucy, though shocked, chased after him.

"GODDAMMIT YOU FUCKING LIZARD! GET BACK HERE, WE STILL NEED SOME O' YER SCALES TO COMPLETE OUR MISSION!" the slayer roared.

His only answer was a loud laugh and a gust of wind knocking him to the ground as his foster father spread his wings and jumped up into the sky, flying off with only the bellow of "THEN FIND ME ON YER OWN THIS TIME!" over his shoulder.

"FUCK!"


	7. Day 7: Secrets

Day 7: Secrets

(Last chapter! Honestly, I'm kinda sad to be bringing this to an end. Oh, well... that's what extras and more fanfics are for, huh? Hope you enjoy! Thanks for an awesome Galu week, guys! Again, disclaimer: FT is Mashima's.)

It had been three years.

Three years since Lucy and Gajeel had become a couple; since they had left on their mission. Three years since Team Natsu had disbanded. The guild, after some time, was able to become mostly itself again. There was still some things—or some_ones_—missing, but the members had managed to move past the initial angst that their friends weren't there.

They had managed to become the best in Fiore, winning the Grand Magic Games twice in a row. Because of this, they had become used to people coming in and visiting; so when two cloaked figures with hoods covering their faces walked in one afternoon, no one really thought anything of it. The duo walked up to the bar, one a massive bulk and the other much more petite. They sat down and Mirajane walked over to them with a smile.

"Welcome to Fairy Tail!" she greeted. "Are you here to join the guild?"

The larger figure snorted gruffly, sounding somewhere between annoyed and amused. "Nah," it grunted in a deep baritone. "Can I get a beer?"

The smaller of the two giggled, an airy and feminine tinkle that had the barmaid smiling along. "Ignore him—he's just tired from traveling," she apologized for her companion. "Would it be alright if I had a strawberry milkshake, please?"

For a moment, Mira felt like she was missing something. But she shook herself and gave them a cheerful smile. "Of course! I'll have that right up." When she came back, they were both leaning against the other comfortably, their elbows propped up on the counter. The takeover mage couldn't fight off a grin as she placed their drinks in front of them. "Oh, my! Are you two a couple?" she giggled mischievously.

"Yeah," the man answered simply, picking up his beer and knocking it back. Half of it was gone by the time the mug hit the counter again.

His companion sipped at her drink far more delicately, stirring the straw around absently with her gloved hands. "Neh, Mirajane-san?" she called with a slight hesitance. "What's the guild like?"

Mira wasn't surprised to be called by name; after all, she was a well-known model and mage. She just shot the woman a smile. "Oh, it's quite rowdy," she admitted. "Not as much as three years ago, but..." her smile waned just a bit before she shook it off. "It's very fun!" she assured brightly. "Are the two of you mages?"

They both nodded, turning to observe their surroundings when the barmaid had to run off to refill someone's beer. At one table, Levy was sitting with the Raijinshuu. She and Freed were discussing books excitedly, and the bluenette would occasionally sneak glances at Laxus who had his eyes closed and his sound pod going. Evergreen and Bixlow sat across from each other, observing the interactions of the others at the table and snickering amongst themselves.

At another, Gray and Juvia were sitting together next to each other, both cradling a small baby to their chests as they chattered with Erza. The mighty Titania was sitting across from them, peacefully eating a large slice of strawberry cake. Right next to her was a teenager with long, dark blue hair.

"Is that Wendy?" the woman questioned her companion softly, sounding quite surprised. "I know it's been a while, but she's grown so much..."

The man grunted a quiet affirmative, his tone giving away that he agreed completely. His cloak slowly moved aside a bit, bright eyes peeking out from the darkness within. Another masculine voice hummed out a surprised confirmation.

"Indeed," it spoke in a whisper. "She has grown quite a bit. And are we to assume that the children Gray and Juvia are holding are theirs?"

The woman nodded a bit. "I would think so," she sighed. "It seems like we missed a lot, huh?"

The teenage dragon slayer had perked up the moment she heard her name, but her gaze swiveled towards them the moment the second voice had spoken. She was watching, her jaw loose and her eyes wide. Slowly, her expression turned into a bright grin while Charle and the others at her table tried asking her what was going on.

Before she could answer, the doors swung open.

"We're back!" an energetic voice called out.

"Aye, sir!" another chirped excitedly.

The woman giggled softly. "Well, we all saw that match-up," she murmured. Natsu and Happy were walking inside with Lisana, the pinkette's arm casually slung over her shoulder.

Suddenly, Wendy was in front of the two cloaked figures, smiling at them brightly. "Welcome back," she greeted.

The man snorted. "Took ya long enough. Fuck, I woulda thought you'da scented us out before now, Brat. Remind me ta take ya out for some extra trainin' later."

The woman giggled, swatting her companion's shoulder lightly. "Oh, don't be like that," she scolded playfully. "We're back, Wendy!"

Suddenly, the pinkette slayer was right there behind the shorter mage. His eyes were wide, his demeanor cautious. His nostrils flared as he took a deep breath, trying to read the scents of the strangers. "Iron face?" he finally muttered, staring at the larger figure before slowly turning to the smaller one. "Luce?"

"Hey, Natsu," the woman greeted with a giggle.

"LUCE!" he shouted happily, running around Wendy and launching into a tackle. Before he could reach her, the man's arm shot out and caught his forehead.

"Oi, Salamander! Cut that shit out!" he roared temperamentally.

Pantherlily tumbled out of his cloak, flying up to land on the woman's lap. "Now, Gajeel," the exceed admonished. "I would appreciate if you didn't engage in a fight while holding onto me."

The man in question knocked back his hood and scowled, his hand still clamped around a flailing Natsu's face. "Fuck off, Lily."

Following his example, the woman also pushed her hood off. She frowned at him as she pulled her blonde hair out of her cloak, careful not to jostle Pantherlily. "Calm down a little, Gajeel. He probably can't breathe like that, you know."

The man grumbled but released his fellow slayer—who was, indeed, a little blue in the face. The whole guild had gone silent, staring at the trio with expressions ranging between shock (from the older members) to curiosity and confusion (from the newer ones). Mira slowly walked up to them, an expression of awe and excitement fluttering across her face.

Pantherlily had changed the least, still looking practically the same as when they had left. Lucy had gained a few new piercings in her ears and her hair had grown out to mid-back. Her face had become a bit softer, while Gajeel's had become even more angular. He also appeared to have neglected to shave for at least a few days, going by the shadow of stubble along his jaw.

"We're back!" Lucy grinned. "Sorry for not telling you right away; we were curious how long it would take people to notice," she giggled.

Natsu, having regained his breath, shot a dark glare at the older slayer. "The hell was that about, iron face!" he growled. The two were shortly in a brawl, pulling in several of the other members in their exuberance.

The blonde let out a sigh, rolling her eyes as she picked up her milkshake and wandered over to the same table as Gray, Juvia and Erza. Wendy walked with her, bouncing excitedly on the balls of her feet as the two chatted. Lucy was ecstatic to find out that Gray and Juvia had gotten married, and that the two babies were indeed theirs. The two had immediately pulled her into a hug, followed shortly by both Wendy and Erza. Pantherlily flew down to rest on the table next to Charle, the two exceeds greeting each other with a silent nod of acknowledgment. They were soon joined by Happy.

A long line of other guild members rushed up to greet them, and Lucy was a bit surprised by how many had apologized to her for their previous actions. Mirajane's was particularly excessive, along with her questioning of when they were going to start having children. The blonde had just awkwardly laughed her off.

"Really, Mira, you sound just like Meta," she giggled a bit. "Always going on about how we need to have some kids already..."

"Meta?" the takeover mage questioned curiously.

Before the blonde could answer, she was suddenly being lifted off the ground. She shrieked, noticing a brief flash of pink and abnormal heat as she was spun around in a pair of muscular arms.

"Luuuuuuce!" Natsu sang, finally placing the dizzy woman back on her feet. "You're back!"

He was punched solidly in the head, sending him sprawling to the floor as Gajeel let out a low growl and pulled Lucy into his arms protectively. "I said to cut that shit out!" he roared. "Dammit, Salamander!"

The woman just let out a sigh and relaxed against his chest, placing her hands on top of his where they rested around her waist. "It's fine," she assured him calmly.

The iron slayer just let out an unhappy growl, plopping down in the seat that she had abandoned as he pulled her into his lap. He rested his chin on her shoulder, sending Natsu one last glare before greeting the others at the table with a short nod.

"So?" Mira asked, treating the conversation as if it had never been interrupted. "Who is 'Meta'?"

Gajeel barked out a laugh. "Ya really still call 'im that, Bunny?" he snickered. Even Pantherlily was chuckling along, both taking obvious amusement in an apparently private joke.

Lucy pouted a bit, meeting her slayer's red eyes with her own brown ones. "What's the matter with it?" she protested. "He doesn't mind."

The man's laughter just got even harder. "I swear, woman, yer the only one alive who'd give a dragon like Metallicana such a cutesy-soundin' nickname! If it was anyone but you, he'da killed 'em!"

She just stuck her tongue out at him, ignoring the dropping jaws around them. "That's because he loves me!" she declared cheekily.

"NO WAY!" Natsu choked, jolting up from the floor and literally hopping up on top of their table. "You found your dragon?! Did he know anything about where Igneel went?!"

Gajeel just shrugged, noticing all the attention they were gathering and letting out a warning growl. "The fuck are you all starin' at?!" he barked, causing the more skittish members to quickly turn back to their own business. He grumbled under his breath for a couple of seconds before turning back to the pinkette. "Some shit about the dragon king dyin' and all the Element Lords havin' ta gather an' figure out who'd be the new one. He didn't really talk 'bout it much. The bastard was more interested in houndin' me and Bunny about havin' some offspring."

"Ah, but apparently the dragons have a way of observing their children from afar," Lucy spoke up. "Meta'd been watching Gajeel since he had to leave, and I'm betting that Grandine and Igneel are the same way."

Wendy's eyes were filled with tears, but she was grinning brightly. Natsu was pouting, trying to make sense of the new information but not having much luck. The other observers were simply thoughtful and curious, attempting to decide if they had a place in the conversation or not.

Mira had no such reservations. "Another supporter of the blonde and red-eyed babies!" she squealed excitedly. "Moreover, he's Gajeel's father! So perfect!"

Lucy just chuckled nervously while the man holding her shifted awkwardly. Their eyes met for a moment, conveying a silent conversation_. 'Should we tell them?' 'Fuck no, Demon Woman's scary. Do it later.'_ They nodded, coming to an agreement before turning back to the others at the table.

Natsu frowned, finally coming out of his thoughts. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask," he spoke up. "How come you guys smell different?"

Gajeel rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Salamander? Yer really that much of a retard? It's obviously 'cause we're mates now, dumb ass. Not to mention we've been wanderin' around the whole fuckin' continent for the past three years. It's obvious our scents would change a bit."

Natsu just frowned thoughtfully while Mirajane shrieked happily.

"Oh dear Mavis!" she squealed. "When's the wedding?"

Gajeel scowled, obviously annoyed by the outburst. "Like that shit's gonna happen," he grumbled. At her sharp glare, he swallowed thickly and spat out an explanation. "Bein' mates is basically like bein' married, anyway. Just the dragon equivalent, 's all. Not like we need some fuckin' group of people's approval fer us to be together."

The woman calmed down again, going back to the bar in a blissful stupor.

"That still doesn't explain how different Luce's scent is," Natsu sulked to himself, climbing off the table to take one of the chairs.

Gajeel chuckled at the idiot's denseness while Lucy and Wendy giggled quietly, the youngest slayer having already figured out the reason the moment she had recognized them.

"Congratulations," the teenage girl told them brightly.

Lucy just grinned, going back to her conversation with the others while Gajeel finished off his second beer. After most of the hype had calmed down, Levy came over with a remorseful look on her face.

"U-um..." she stuttered, not meeting anyone's eyes as she studied the ground. "I-I owe you an apology, Lu-chan... I never should have said the things I did three years ago. I was just so jealous, and they just came out before I could even think..."

The blonde gave her a gentle smile. "It's okay, Levy-chan," she assured. "Neh, I finished my novel while we were gone. It's at home right now, but I did promise that you'd be the first one to read it. I'll have to bring it in tomorrow—if you don't mind?" she added, suddenly a little nervous.

Levy's face broke into a teary grin. "Oh, Lu-chan!" she exclaimed. "I would love that!" She also joined them at their table, catching up with the blonde woman under Gajeel's careful observance.

Master also approached them, questioning them about how their mission went. "It went well," the Celestial mage grinned. "We already took the scales to the client and received out reward on the way back to Magnolia."

Makarov grinned back, extremely proud of his 'children'.

Finally, Erza questioned them on something that no one else had even noticed. "Why are the two of you still wearing your cloaks?" she asked. "I thought that they were simply to keep your identities secret until someone recognized you."

Lucy glanced around cautiously, realizing that several people were also listening in—including Mira, who had come over to refill their drinks. She hopped out of Gajeel's lap, pulling him up with her. It had already gotten late, though most of the members had stayed to enjoy the celebration still going on in the background.

"We should actually get going home soon," she intoned, taking the man's hand as she leaned affectionately against his shoulder. "But there is a valid reason for it, Erza. You see, we just didn't want too much of an uproar."

The redhead's brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

The two grinned mischievously, glancing over at Wendy who mirrored their expressions. "Well," the woman chirped, "it does start getting rather obvious a few months in."

As the couple made their way for the doors, Natsu finally jumped to his feet with an expression of triumph. "_That's_ it!" he cheered. "That's why she was even heavier than before when I spun her around! She got fat, didn't she?!" His grin was met by a fierce glare from the blonde in question.

"What the fuck?" Gajeel choked. "No, you dumb ass!"

The pinkette frowned. "Then is she sick or something? That would explain the weird smell."

"No, Natsu-san," Wendy deadpanned. "She's pregnant."

The fire slayer's mouth fell open. "Oh."

"She's PREGNANT?!" Mirajane squealed, the loud words spreading across the guild hall together with the news.

"THIS CALLS FOR ANOTHER PARTY!" several of their guild mates declared excitedly. The suggestion was met by loud cheers, while a number of people rushed to crowd around the couple with congratulations and excited inquiries of when the baby was due.

Gajeel hoisted his mate up into his arms, breaking out into a run as he pushed open the guild doors and hurried to get away from their guild mates "Like we need this shit right now!" he complained.

Lucy just giggled, wrapping her arms securely around his neck as she peeked over his shoulder at their pursuers. "Ah, Fairy Tail. They'll never change," she declared.

"Gajeel! Lucy!" Pantherlily shouted, flying after them as he tried to both catch up and avoid being captured. "Don't just leave me here!"

===in a cave near their house===

Metallicana was laughing his ass off. His brood's guild was really quite something—he had honestly thought that only Lucy could aggravate and goad the brat that much, but there was a whole group of them! He rolled over, shutting off his surveillance spell as he continued to chuckle.

Ah, just a few more months and they'd be having a little hatchling to watch over. He was looking forward to training the little human! It was also quite entertaining to him that his progeny and Layla's had come together to produce one of their own. Maybe one day he'd tell them that he had known the woman...

He chuckled again. Maybe someday.


End file.
